Aerial drone views of the Babinda boulders in Queensland, Australia 1199390792

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Cairns

Cairns (pronounced ‘cans’) has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a boggy swamp and rollicking goldfields port. As the number-one base for Far North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, today Cairns heaves under the weight of an ever-growing number of resorts, tour agencies, souvenir shops, backpacker bars and reef boats. This is a tourist town, and unashamedly so – luxury hotel development in 2018 and an increasingly busy cruise-ship port suggest it's only growing busier.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Cairns, Australia - July 8, 2017: Zhanjiang Chinese Friendship Pavilion at Cairns Botanic Gardens

    Cairns Botanic Gardens

    Cairns

    These gorgeous gardens are an explosion of greenery and rainforest plants. Highlights include a section devoted to Aboriginal plant use, the Gondwana…

  • People by the pool at the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon with the fish sculptures in the background in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

    Cairns Esplanade, Boardwalk & Lagoon

    Cairns

    Sunseekers and fun-lovers flock to Cairns Esplanade's spectacular swimming lagoon on the city’s reclaimed foreshore. The artificial, sandy-edged, 4800-sq…

  • Cairns, Queensland / Australia - December 4 2017: Two children look at fish in the Cairns Aquarium.

    Cairns Aquarium

    Cairns

    Cairns' multi-million-dollar aquarium is well worth a visit for its vast and gorgeously presented range of marine life, the Great Barrier Reef in…

  • ERBY04 For over 20 years Reef Teach has been educating visitors to the Great Barrier Reef about its beauty. Cairns, far north Queenslan

    Reef Teach

    Cairns

    Take your knowledge to new depths at this fun, informative centre, where marine experts explain how to identify specific species of fish and coral, and…

  • Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

    Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

    Cairns

    Managed by the area’s original custodians, this award-winning cultural extravaganza tells the story of creation using giant holograms and actors. There's…

  • St Monica's Cathedral

    St Monica's Cathedral

    Cairns

    Cairns' main Catholic church is famous for its themed stained-glass windows, the largest of their type in the world. There are 24 windows depicting the…

  • Babinda Boulders

    Babinda Boulders

    Cairns

    Babinda Boulders is a natural gorge where a photogenic creek rushes between 4m-high granite rocks. It’s croc-free, but waters can turn treacherous after…

  • AUSTRALIA-Queensland-NORTH COAST-Cairns: Captain Cook Statue on Captain Cook Highway / Morning

    Captain Cook Statue

    Cairns

    You won't be able to miss this mammoth statue, one of Australia's most controversial 'Big Things'. Looming over the city's main road since 1972, the 10m…

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Articles

Latest stories from Cairns

(AUSTRALIA OUT) Katrina Goudkamp videos coral with the help of Aboriginal trainee Lwayne Boslem as The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority conducts a survey of the bleaching on the Reef from Gladstone to Cooktown, 6 April 2006. THE AGE Picture by SANDY SCHELTEMA (Photo by Fairfax Media via Getty Images/Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Sustainable Travel

How Australia scuba tour guides are saving the Great Barrier Reef while tourists are away

Apr 29, 2020 • 4 min read

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